This year we will celebrate the V anniversary of the British Council IELTS Award in Spain. From all the events we sponsor, this is the more rewarding of all. We are really grateful to our past winners for sharing with us, during these past years their experiences and emotions, and we are very proud of what they have achieved so far. To celebrate our V anniversary we have planned a series of activities that include masterclasses, a raffle of IELTS preparation courses, interviews with our past winners where they will tell us about their experiences, challenges and achievements. We invite you to follow us on our social media.

The British Council IELTS Award 2019 is designed to assist a dynamic, innovative, sociable individual with commitment to developing their career and who can also demonstrate that they have the potential to contribute to society with their studies.

The successful applicant will demonstrate a commitment to networking within the IELTS community and sharing their experience with other IELTS candidates. The IELTS Award is now available in Spain and will enable the successful applicant to study in Spain or abroad on any chosen undergraduate or postgraduate programme at an institution of higher education that accepts IELTS as part of its admission requirements.

The IELTS Award is worth up to 10,000 EUROS, which will go towards the cost of tuition fees only and which will be paid directly to the institution.

Key dates

Application period until the 3 June 2019.

Shortlisting: Week commencing the 10 June 2019.

Presentation and interview of the 5 shortlisted applicants: From 17 to 21 June 2019.

Announcement of winner of IELTS Award: week commencing the 24 June 2019.

Award ceremony: 2 July 2019 (12-2 pm) This year is the fifth anniversary of this award in Spain. All our previous winners of the award will be attending the ceremony to celebrate!

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for the IELTS Award you must: (pending to be confirmed for 2019)

Be aged 18 years before or on 31 December 2019

Be a Spanish citizen or have a Spanish residence permit.

Be planning to enrol or be studying in a full-time undergraduate or postgraduate course in Spain or abroad that is taught in English in the academic year that starts between August and October 2019. This award also applies to those students going to study a year abroad with the Erasmus+ programme or any other bilateral University programme also taught in English.

Be planning to attend an institution of higher education that accepts IELTS as part of its admission requirements (check the official recognition list).

Be able to provide an acceptance offer from the relevant institution by 30 June 2019.

Have taken an IELTS test at a British Council centre in Spain and received an official Test Report Form (TRF) dated between from 1 May 2018 until the 3 June 2019, issued by the British Council in Spain. (Please note that the last opportunity to have the TRF in time will be the 18 May 2019).

Have achieved a minimum overall band score of 6.5 on the IELTS test.

How to apply

Selection process

Applications will initially be reviewed to ensure that they meet the British Council IELTS Award eligibility criteria before being assessed by a panel of British Council and Higher Education representatives.

Five applicants will be shortlisted based on their applications, including their personal statement.

Shortlisted applicants will be asked to provide evidence to support their application, such as a copy of their IELTS Test Report Form (TRF) and a copy of their ID.

The final shortlisted applicants will be invited to a British Council office in Spain to be interviewed by a panel of British Council/Higher Education experts. They will be asked to give a short presentation before being interviewed for final selection.

Application deadline

Frequently asked questions

How many awards are available?

One successful applicant will be selected and will receive an award of up to 10,000 EUROS to assist with his/her tuition fees.

I have a disability. Can I apply?

The IELTS Award is open to everyone.

What expenses will the award cover?

The award can only be used to cover tuition fees for one academic year, up to a maximum of 10,000 EUROS.

At which institutions of higher education can the award be used?

You can use the award at any institution of higher education in any country including Spain that recognises IELTS for the purposes of undergraduate or postgraduate admission requirements. You can search our worldwide list of recognising institutions.

Global IELTS recognition is growing all the time and if the institution of higher education you plan to attend is not listed, we strongly recommend you contact the institution directly for confirmation of their latest admission requirements.

Can I apply for the award if I have registered for an IELTS test but have not taken it?

No, you can only apply with your IELTS score and if your score meets the minimum eligibility requirement of an overall band 6.5.

Can I apply if I am waiting for an acceptance letter from my university?

Yes. Only shortlisted applicants will have to provide an acceptance letter or conditional offer from the university they plan to attend by 30 June 2019. This university must use IELTS scores to satisfy their English language requirements for admission.

I have a valid IELTS score. Can I apply for the award?

You can apply for the IELTS Award in Spain if you provide an IELTS Test Report Form (TRF) dated between 1 May 2018 and 3 June 2019, issued by the British Council in Spain.

I took the IELTS test at my university, not at a British Council centre. Can I apply for the award?

Yes, if the test was administered by the British Council at your school or university and you received your scores on an IELTS Test Report Form (TRF) dated between 1 May 2018 and 3 June 2019, issued and stamped by an official British Council centre in Spain.

Am I eligible to apply for the award even though I already have partial funding through another programme or loan scheme?

Yes, you are eligible. You will have to give details of other funding sources in your application. However, if you are applying to other grant authorities, you are advised to check if they allow you to receive another award.

I already have a full tuition award. Am I eligible to apply?

No, you are not eligible. If you receive an award that covers your full tuition costs, after you apply for the British Council IELTS Award, you must inform us immediately and we will no longer consider your application. If we find that you have not disclosed full details of any other awards, we reserve the right to withdraw or terminate the IELTS Award.

What are the terms and conditions of the IELTS Award?

Employees of the British Council along with their relatives (up to second degree of kinship) are excluded from the IELTS Award programme;

People wishing to apply for the IELTS Award will need to ensure that they have their own access to the Internet. The British Council is not responsible for assisting with access to websites or for providing other technical assistance to any applicant;

Access to the British Council website is permitted only under the terms of operation of the relevant server and the technical or other conditions and specifications of this programme;

Applicants bear full responsibility for the complete and correct filling in, and submission of, their personal information;

By submitting an application for the IELTS Award, applicants hereby consent to the publication of their names on British Council websites, if they are shortlisted;

The IELTS Award is non-transferable and cannot be used by any person other than the successful candidate;

The IELTS Award will be paid directly to the Higher Education Institution that the successful candidate will attend, subject to the British Council officially confirming his/her application status with the institution;

The British Council will not bear any responsibility for the loss of the IELTS Award, should the organisation be unable to notify the successful candidate, due to any issues connected to his/her e-mail, including, but not limited to, technical issues;

The British Council reserves the right to allocate or withdraw the IELTS Award at its discretion, should the successful candidate not respond to the British Council, including failure to provide the British Council with any required information and documentation by 15 July 2016. After this deadline, the responsibility of the British Council ceases;

The successful candidate consents to appear in relevant advertisements connected to the IELTS Award and future award programmes, or to have his/her name and photo or video used for the purposes of promotion by the British Council, without receiving any remuneration;

Participation in the IELTS Award programme entails the provision of full and unreserved consent of the applicants towards the British Council for their personal information to be registered in a file, which will be kept in accordance with Ley Orgánica 15/1999, de 13 de diciembre, de Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal as it is currently in force in Spain, and British Council Standards. The participants have the right to ask for a copy of the information the British Council holds on him/her, and the right to ask the British Council to correct any inaccurate information or delete his/her personal information, according to the specific provisions of the relevant legislation, by e-mail to ieltsaward.eu@britishcouncil.org ;

The information you submit will be used to consider your eligibility and suitability for the IELTS Award and to manage the application process and the forwarding prize to the Higher Educational Institution or to the winner candidate;

Please note that all applicants’ information will be deleted after a time period of two years;

The decision of the awarding panel is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Participation in the IELTS Award programme presupposes and entails unreserved acceptance of all the terms and conditions included in this document along with the additional documents stated below.

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The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity in the UK: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). Registered in Spain as “Delegación en España de la Fundación British Council” in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport under number 874.